The Sky-Supporting Swordsman (Part 2)

Early in the morning, the citizens of Yanjing City were horrified to see over five thousand soldiers, fully armed and led by a young man, running back and forth from south to north and west to east of the city. They then charged out of the main gate of Yanjing City and rushed towards a military camp. Zhu Xi, dressed in the attire of a noble's son, his face ashen, was closely followed by Li Feng on horseback, under the escort of several eunuchs, charging towards the camp where Murong Tian was stationed.

Murong Tian's camp was surrounded by two layers of wooden palisades. The sentries at the camp entrance saw a crowd of people charging in with murderous intent. They immediately trembled and were about to lower the wooden gate while blowing a sharp horn to alert the entire camp.

Li Feng had already drawn the Dragon Spring Sword. With a single stride covering eighteen feet, he slashed at the camp's main gate with his "Mount Hua Seven Absolutes Sword Style." A sword energy, a full five zhang long, roared out, shattering the gate, which was built from logs as thick as a man's waist, into pieces. In the cold wind, the sword energy swept through countless snowflakes, striking the sentries. Over a hundred sentries let out a muffled groan as they were sent flying by Li Feng's immense internal energy, crashing heavily onto the snow-covered ground, unable to get up for a long time.

Li Feng roared, "Young Murong Tian, release my elder brother Dugu, and hand over the scoundrels you've plundered, or we're not done today!" The Dragon Spring Sword in his hand pointed diagonally towards the sky, and a heaven-piercing sword energy shot upwards. Li Feng's left hand was hidden in his sleeve, forming a "Wind Control Art." A cold wind swirled upwards along his sword energy, and countless snowflakes drifted and spun in the cold wind, resembling a giant white dragon. Li Feng seemed to be holding the dragon's tail, as if the dragon was twisting and struggling in the sky.

Zhu Xi was deeply moved. He had no idea about the little trick Li Feng was playing. He clapped his hands and praised, "Marvelous! Truly a sky-supporting sword strike." The sword energy was truly terrifying, rising dozens of zhang high. Entwined with the cold wind and snowflakes, it seemed to be a zhang thick. Who had ever seen such monstrously powerful sword energy? Zhu Xi immediately made up his mind: "Excellent, this Li Feng is a talent. That idiot Dugu Sheng, having him as the deputy commander, let Li Feng be the main one, and give him a position as head of external affairs. Little Li will manage internal affairs, and he'll manage external, brilliant."

The rumbling sound of footsteps arose, and ten thousand armored soldiers, under the command of several generals, charged from four directions, surrounding Li Feng and his men. With a roar of "Ha!", the ten thousand soldiers brandished their spears and advanced two steps forward. Murong Tian, clad in heavy armor, with his long hair unbound and wildly fluttering in the cold wind, his entire aura like that of a demon god, soared from the rear of the army formation. He shouted, "How dare you attack the North Camp! You're courting death... Ah, Your Highness." Murong Tian suddenly saw Zhu Xi sitting on his horse with a frosty expression and immediately cupped his hands in greeting.

Li Feng shouted, "Brothers, prepare yourselves."

The contingent he brought was also a well-trained elite. Hearing Li Feng's cry, they immediately formed a square formation, encircling Zhu Xi within, and then simultaneously produced powerful bows and crossbows. With a "swish," these long-range killing weapons accurately aimed at the surrounding soldiers.

Murong Tian was greatly alarmed. He never expected Li Feng to dare to mobilize the archers and crossbowmen without authorization. He roared angrily, "Li Feng, are you trying to rebel?"

Li Feng pointed his long sword sharply at Murong Tian and shouted, "Murong Tian, you son of a bitch!" Murong Tian's face turned green with anger. Li Feng roared, "I'll fuck your mother, you think I'm leading five thousand men to rebel? Do you think I'm an idiot? The First Prince is here, how dare you say I'm rebelling? What do you take the First Prince for?"

Zhu Xi, his face extremely displeased, ordered, "Murong Tian, release the guards from my residence, and also that Lei Zhenyuan who raped a civilian woman after drinking. Otherwise, we're not done today... Hey, you scoundrels, don't you know who I am? You dare point weapons at me?" Zhu Xi revealed a coiled dragon jade token and flashed it at the surrounding soldiers. The soldiers surrounding Li Feng and his men became flustered. Some soldiers lowered their weapons, but seeing that their commander Murong Tian had not moved, they immediately pointed their weapons at Zhu Xi again.

Li Feng saw that many brave citizens from Yanjing City had gathered to watch the spectacle. He immediately channeled his True Essence and shouted loudly, "Hey Murong Tian, you are lax in military discipline. Your subordinate Lei Zhenyuan, drunk at the 'Drunken Fragrance Tower,' raped a girl from the tower and assaulted innocent people. After being stopped by my guards, he was apprehended and will be handed over to the Marshal's mansion for punishment at dawn. Yet, you rely on your military might to forcibly snatch the villain Lei Zhenyuan and arrest my guards, intending to silence them. Is this true?"

Murong Tian was furious and roared, "Nonsense, utter nonsense... General Lei Zhenyuan is..."

Before he could finish, Li Feng swung his sword and charged forward, thrusting at Murong Tian's throat. He coldly shouted, "Why would he go to a brothel without reason? Whether he is guilty or not, we can bring the owner of the brothel here to ask. You are mobilizing troops and arresting my guards without cause, which is a violation of military regulations."

Murong Tian was exasperated. He had initially intended to deal with Li Feng, whom Zhu Xi had recently recruited, as a habitual move to slight Zhu Xi's residence and gain some merit in front of Zhu Cheng. Who knew that this fellow Li Feng would not play by the rules or the code of the martial world, resorting to framing and any means necessary, easily pinning a chamber pot onto himself? Moreover, he had mobilized troops to arrest people first, which was something he could not argue his way out of. A surge of anger welled up within him.

Disregarding propriety, he drew his long sword. It was twice as thick, three times as wide, and two feet longer than Li Feng's Dragon Spring Sword. It sliced through the air with a fierce aura, cleaving down towards Li Feng's head. Li Feng chuckled. Although he had secretly learned the "Mount Hua Seven Absolutes Sword Style," he had never practiced it. If it were just about swordsmanship, even a third-rate swordsman from the martial world could defeat him. However, Murong Tian's swordsmanship was now open and grand, with the momentum of charging and breaking through formations, which suited his intentions perfectly.

Li Feng's incomparably smaller Dragon Spring Sword met the attack head-on, infused with his powerful True Essence, and clashed against the massive battle sword. "Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!" A series of loud noises erupted. Li Feng's True Essence was extremely powerful. Using such a disadvantageous sword, he managed to spar fiercely with Murong Tian's giant sword. Murong Tian's arms possessed astonishing divine strength, and his cultivation method also followed a vigorous path. Seeing Li Feng dare to clash swords with him, a sense of defiance filled his heart. He was determined to cleave Li Feng's Dragon Spring Sword.

Thus, the two stood their ground, like two grizzly bears fighting, unmoving as they swung their long swords, constantly hacking at each other. Their long swords continuously collided, sparks flying. This was no longer a fight of techniques or tricks, but purely a contest of strength, the richness of True Essence, and who had better stamina and longer qi circulation.

Li Feng's Qi Refining mantra originated from the Yiyuan Sect, a miraculous immortal technique. After only six years of cultivation, he had already reached the supreme Innate Realm, especially after a significant breakthrough last night. His internal True Essence was in no danger of depletion, and his body had been tempered by the primordial energy of heaven and earth, making it incomparably tough. Coupled with the medicinal effects of tens of thousands of pounds of spiritual herbs from the Yiyuan Sect, his body could now be described as having jade bones and qi muscles. His bones were as smooth and solid as jade, and his muscles were as tough and flexible as flowing qi, lively and smooth.

And Murong Tian's position as the foremost general under Zhu Cheng was not due to luck. He had cultivated diligently since childhood, tempering his vital True Essence for over twenty years. His body, in particular, had been vigorously refined in the military. Although his True Essence had not reached the Innate Realm, the power of his True Essence was astonishing, and his body could be described as having steel bones and iron muscles. Coupled with his innate divine strength, his arms could swing with a thousand pounds of force, perfectly matching Li Feng's strength.

Li Feng was unwilling to unleash his full strength, and Murong Tian's own power was immense, so the two fought to a standstill. In the arena, sparks flew, and strong winds gusted. The two fought like blacksmiths, wishing they could cleave each other into pieces.

The onlookers began to murmur, "Look, that young man can fight on par with General Murong."

"Exactly, exactly. General Murong is the number one swordsman in Yanjing City, and these two are fighting to a draw. This young man is truly formidable."

"No, no, this young man has the upper hand. His weapon is clearly at a significant disadvantage, but his three-foot sword can clash head-on with the five-foot greatsword. His strength is slightly superior."

"Nonsense, how could General Murong be suppressed by this brat?"

Li Feng's ears were sharp, and he heard the nearby citizens shouting. He immediately had an idea: "Is Murong Tian your idol? Then I'll destroy this idol." He laughed heartily, "Young Murong Tian, do you dare to exchange a thousand sword strikes with me? Whoever dodges is raised by women." Li Feng sneered inwardly, "I was raised by women in the first place, you can't dodge, but I can."

As expected, Murong Tian roared, "Good! Whoever dodges is raised by women!" He took a deep breath, planted his feet firmly, raised his sword above his head, and slashed down. Even more amusingly, this fierce general actually started counting, "One..."

Li Feng roared with laughter and also slashed his sword, shouting, "One..."

The two channeled their strength and began to hack wildly at each other again. Gradually, they had exchanged hundreds of blows. Murong Tian had fallen into a fixed pattern, honestly following Li Feng's method of relentlessly slashing down with each sword strike. How could he think of anything else? He didn't want to lose to this unknown brat Li Feng. Moreover, Li Feng's demeanor was not at all like that of a swordsman; he was typically a street thug. Losing to Li Feng would be a huge embarrassment for Murong Tian.

Li Feng saw that Murong Tian's spirit and energy were in harmony. After more than a hundred wild slashes, all his internal True Essence had been mobilized, and each sword strike was heavier than the last. A strange smile appeared on his face. When Murong Tian delivered a heavy blow, instead of meeting it with his sword, he suddenly shifted a step to the side and kicked Murong Tian in the abdomen with his right foot.

Murong Tian's sword strike missed its target. He had channeled ten-tenths of his True Essence into this strike and had not held back any strength. How could he retract it? He cried out inwardly, "Not good..." and yelled, "Despicable..." His long sword had already plunged into the snow, and his abdomen vibrated as he was kicked squarely by Li Feng.

Li Feng's attack was ruthless. He had used sixty percent of his internal True Essence. Murong Tian's thick layered fish-scale armor was instantly shattered, and his protective True Essence was broken by the kick. His entire body rolled like a ball seven or eight zhang on the snow. Murong Tian clutched his abdomen, unable to speak. His face was deathly pale, feeling as if an iron stake had been driven into his abdomen. Pain, ache, swelling, distension, numbness – all his internal organs convulsed together, as if a pot of boiling oil had been poured in.

Murong Tian repeatedly reminded himself, "Don't vomit blood, don't vomit blood. If I vomit this blood, it will mean at least three years of hard work gone... Heavens, please don't let me vomit blood." But that hint of sweet, bloody taste had already reached his throat, and he still spat out a mouthful of blood. Murong Tian was both furious and in pain, and he let out a roar.

Murong Tian's subordinates were in an uproar. They gripped their weapons and menacingly took three steps forward. The generals rushed to Murong Tian's side, helped him up, and force-fed him the army's secret "Life-Preserving Heavenly King Pill." One general swung a sledgehammer, charged forward a few steps, and roared, "You little bastard, what a shameless tactic."

Li Feng rolled his eyes, his street-thug temper fully exposed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah? Who are you calling a little bastard?"

The general roared, "I'm calling you a little bastard."

Li Feng jumped up and yelled, "Wonderful! Damn it, a little bastard is calling me names. Damn it, aren't you soldiers? Aren't you generals? When fighting, do you expect the enemy to always face you head-on? If fighting were that simple, would you still study 'The Art of War,' 'Guiguzi,' or women? This is strategy, strategy, understand?"

The general was furious. It was true that when fighting, strategy and cunning were important. But Murong Tian and Li Feng were dueling just now. According to the rules of the martial world, such a violation of the dueling agreement should be condemned. However, he was verbally inept and couldn't match Li Feng. Li Feng's mouth spewed out thousands of words like a repeating crossbow, and he hadn't even uttered a sound.

Zhu Xi, however, perfectly added fuel to the fire. He clapped and laughed loudly, "Good, good, good! The invincible Murong Tian of Yanjing also has days like this? A Feng, your sword strike just now was truly a sky-supporting sword strike. I'll give you a nickname, 'Sky-Supporting Swordsman.' Hahaha, Murong Tian, aren't you known as 'Mountain-Breaking Sword'? You still have to bow down to A Feng's 'Sky-Supporting Sword'?"

Li Feng's face turned slightly red, a rare occurrence. Zhu Xi, on his horse, clapped and mocked incessantly.

Murong Tian's subordinates around them were about to go crazy. Several rough-tempered generals shouted, ordering the soldiers to advance in large strides, about to attack Zhu Xi's five thousand soldiers. Li Feng's eyes narrowed, and he roared ferociously, "Brothers, they're raising their swords to kill us. You won't let them kill us for nothing, will you? Damn it, folks, bear witness, we were forced into this, forced self-defense... Brothers, prepare..."

The soldiers in the middle, who were surrounded, also felt indignant: "In the past, relying on your martial prowess and the Second Prince's influence, you let your subordinates bully our contingent of soldiers. Why didn't we get angry then? Today, we finally managed to curb your arrogance, and you're actually mobilizing troops to attack us? Damn it, we're not to be trifled with either... Now that we have this brother named, ah, named Li Feng, to stand up for us, we're not afraid of you, Murong Tian, anymore. Damn it, if we have to fight, we'll fight. We'll die together. Are we supposed to let you hack us down for nothing?"

These soldiers hardened their hearts, and their bows and crossbows were raised, aiming at the gradually approaching warriors. Anyone could imagine that although the surrounding soldiers were armored, at such close range, how could they withstand the impact of the crossbow bolts? Especially since they had not prepared shields, and the distance was so short. As soon as Li Feng gave the order, a tragedy of flowing blood was imminent.

The surrounding civilians began to flee in panic. If over ten thousand troops were to fight, it would not be a trivial matter. Watching the excitement and losing their own lives would not be worth it.

Murong Tian slumped there, clutching his abdomen. He was extremely anxious and wanted to stop his subordinate generals, but he couldn't speak at all. How could he stop them? He knew very well that Li Feng was an extremely shameless person. If you provoked him, he would really dare to order an attack. This would be an internal conflict. If the Prince of Yan went mad, he would kill them all. Zhu Xi was the eldest prince, so he would be fine. Li Feng could escape at any time, and where would they find him? Naturally, he would be fine, but it would definitely be a death sentence for Murong Tian.

Murong Tian was covered in cold sweat. This matter had escalated too much. Especially since Li Feng had firmly established the guilt of Lei Zhenyuan and the others, if the Prince of Yan investigated, he would definitely be the one to suffer.

The generals under Murong Tian gradually raised their weapons, about to give the order to attack. Li Feng, his face ashen, raised his right hand high, preparing to order the shooting. In any case, they were not his brothers, and he wouldn't care if these soldiers all died.

Finally, the surrounding soldiers, following an order, advanced in large strides. Li Feng, his face contorted, watched the powerful momentum of ten thousand charging men and was about to give the order.

Just then, a voice filled with powerful energy, so loud it made everyone's ears go numb, rang out: "All of you, stop! Whoever dares to act, I will exterminate their entire clan."

The Prince of Yan, Zhu Di, had finally arrived.